The Heat is On: Are You Keeping Your Cool?

Summer appears to be happening in the UK. I know. It’s shocking!

It’s also brilliant. London has taken on the slight odour of decaying food; up and down the Country, park lawns turn brittle and golden, crisping at the edges like the perfect bag of chips, and no one seems to be getting any sleep.
The children, moping around like sleepy wasps during the heat of the day, suddenly spring to life around bedtime as the cooler night air rolls in.

What are you doing to keep the family cool at night? Here are some tips I learned from living in California:

1. Keep curtains and blinds drawn during the day in bedrooms to keep the sun out.
2. Put pillow cases in the fridge about half an hour before bedtime. It makes them lovely and cool.
3. Shower or bath just before bed and leave the hair damp. Not a great long-term plan but is working a treat for us.
4. Keep a mister bottle, like the type you use in the garden, by the bed. A lovely spray of lavender or rose water in the air around the bed is so refreshing, and the fragrances encourage sleep.
5. Create a breeze if you can. In our home this usually means opening windows and doors that are opposite each other to stir up a current.
6. If you have one, get a fan going in the bedroom for half an hour before trying to sleep. Put it on the floor as the cool air is at ground-level and you want your fan to push it upwards.
7. Running the wrists under cold water for ten to fifteen seconds also helps cool you down.
8. Turn off all unnecessary electrical appliances at night! They generate even MORE heat!
9. Drag your mattress onto the floor if necessary; remember the cooler air is at ground-level.
10. Fill a hot water bottle with cold water and keep it in the fridge before retiring with it at night. Ah, bliss.

What’s your best tip for getting a good night’s sleep in the heat?

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